Editing Francis Marlin Blackthorne (section)

==Vietnam, National Security Advisor & Anti-War Activism (1965–1975)==

Following his retirement, Blackthorne was appointed National Security Advisor to President Lyndon B. Johnson, but his opposition to deeper U.S. involvement in Vietnam soon made his position untenable. He resigned after a year, becoming one of the most high-profile critics of the war.

Rather than retreating into obscurity, Blackthorne threw himself into the anti-war movement, becoming a powerful and paradoxical voice—a decorated Marine general who denounced the war while still wearing his full uniform at protests and speeches.

His presence at the 1969 Woodstock Festival, where he famously met and conversed with Jimi Hendrix, symbolized his transformation into a countercultural figure. Despite this, Blackthorne never fully abandoned his military past, maintaining friendships with figures across the political spectrum, including both radical activists and conservative generals.

Met Martin Luther King Jr. and discussed the civil rights and anti-war movements. 

Photographed with Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin smoking marijuana, a moment that stunned both the military and counterculture.
 
Got into a fistfight with Black Panther members, though Stokely Carmichael reportedly respected him despite their ideological differences. 

Attended Woodstock (out of uniform) with his grandchild and four of her friends, accidentally stumbling into one of the largest cultural moments in history. He met Jimi Hendrix, and when organizers realized who he was, he and his group were given backstage access. A Pulitzer-winning photo of Blackthorne and Hendrix together remains one of the most iconic images of the era. A rumor persists that he was secretly given LSD, though he never confirmed or denied it.